The hermeneutic phenomenological study interprets the lived experience of female alcohol dependence. Literature reveals that past research into alcohol dependence has generally used male subjects that formed the standard for theories, and treatment, of alcohol dependence. Researchers realised that alcohol dependent women differ significantly from their male counterparts, leading to an increase in exploratory studies of female alcohol dependence. However, these studies only provided a description of the disorder. How female alcohol dependents experience their disorder and how it makes sense to them has been largely ignored. The philosophy of Martin Heidegger provided the framework for collection, analysis and interpretation of data. Analysis revealed four life-worlds: „The Disheartened One‟, „The Ambivalent Player, „The Contemplator‟ and „The Covert Chauvinist‟. A lived experience typology of female alcohol dependence was proposed, namely „The Condemned‟, „The Utopian‟ and „The Realist‟. Implications of the findings on treatment and recommendations for future research are discussed. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

This research study will clarify with facts and evidence that drinking alcoholic beverages is a social problem in American society. It will also focus on indepth interviews using the laddering technique on a small sample of eight respondents.

Thesis (M. A. (Clinical Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / The study explored the stress levels and alcohol use amongst first entering students at the University of Limpopo. There are various reasons that students’ use and abuse alcohol for instance, academic workload, peer pressure, negative life events and boredom. In this study a cross-sectional survey design was used with a random sample of 217 first year psychology students. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), which measures individual stress and the Alcohol Use Identification Disorder Test (Audit), which measures alcohol use were used. Descriptive statistics, the chi-square test and an independent t-test were used to analyse data. Findings revealed that the majority of students drink alcohol but only a few drink to excess. Stress was reported mostly in the low to moderate range. However, female students did report significantly more stress than males in the sample. Some findings, although not significant, were problematic as for instance, a portion of students stated they could not remember what they were doing the night before after drinking and one female student was found to be dependent on alcohol. The Self-Medication Model (SMM) posits that people in a group are likely to selfmedicate if certain conditions are met in order to avoid stress, this appears to be the case in this study. It was recommended that a larger study be undertaken with a qualitative component to ascertain reasons why students are drinking alcohol in ever increasing numbers. It was also recommended that the institution run programmes related to the dangers of alcohol use and about stress and its consequences.

Objective: The relationship between alcohol use and suicidal behaviors is well-accepted, but less is known about the contribution of its early initiation. This study was designed to test the association of early alcohol initiation versus later initiation with suicidal ideation and attempt in an ethnically diverse sample. Methods: The Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES), 2001-2003 (n = 20,013), database was used. A total of 13,867 participants were selected included 56.9% females and 43.1% males. Race and ethnicity were reported as 28.8% non-Hispanic White, 39.1% Black, 20.3% Latino, and 11.9% Asian. Logistic regression analyses tested the associations between early (< =14 years) and later (> =15) age alcohol initiation with suicide ideation and attempts. Alcohol initiation was indexed by self-report of the first time that any alcohol product was consumed. Potential confounders were controlled. Results: Early alcohol initiation was associated with higher odds (AOR = 3.64, 95% CI [2.51, 5.28]) of suicide ideation as compared with adults who had initiated > = age 15 (AOR = 2.11, 95% CI [1.46, 3.04]). Early age initiation was also associated with higher odds (AOR = 3.81, 95% CI [2.02, 7.18]) of lifetime suicide attempt versus later age initiators (AOR = 2.03, 95% CI [1.08, 3.79]). Significant differences were found between early and later age of initiation. Conclusion: Early age of alcohol initiation has profoundly increased odds of suicide ideation or attempt. It is critical that effective prevention programs for children and their caregivers be implemented to prevent or delay alcohol initiation and lessen the risk for future suicidal behaviors.

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of family-of-origin quality, adult regulation of negative affect, and marital stability with the extent to which couples report they drink similarly and the extent to which they report that the husband drinks more than the wife. It was hypothesized that these two types of couple drinking patterns would be impacted by each individual spouse's context as well as by the interaction of those contexts. A national sample of 1498 couples or 2996 individuals (1498 wives and 1498 husbands married to each other) participated in this study. This study sought to understand the family-of-origin influences when there was not an alcoholic parent in the home. Therefore, adult children of alcoholics were excluded from the sample. The results of this study suggested that wives family-of-origin quality and both spouses' regulation of negative affect were highly predictive of a husband drinking more than the wife, and moderately to highly predictive of couple drinking similarity. The husband's family-of-origin had only indirect effects on both alcohol use patterns. His family-of-origin had moderately significant effects on drinking similarity through the mediating variable of the husband's regulation of negative affect. His family-of-origin had moderate to highly significant effects on whether or not he drinks more than his wife through two indirect paths, with regulation of negative affect and marital stability as mediating variables. When examining partner effects on couple alcohol use patterns, findings suggest the contributions of husband and wife are not entirely equal. Findings suggest that the wife's family-of-origin influences the pattern of the ‘husband drinking more than his wife’, through the mediating variable of the husband's regulation of negative affect, and this relationship was found to be stronger than his own family-of-origin. The wife's family-of-origin and her regulation of negative affect were more predictive of whether or not the couple drank similarly than the husband's family-of-origin or his regulation of negative affect. The most poignant conclusion drawn from this study is the importance of recognizing not only individual contributors to later alcohol use, but also the influence of the interacting couple contexts when examining couple alcohol use patterns.

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No description available.

An individual’s alcohol use influences, and is influenced by, the drinking in their social network. Indeed, a person’s propensity to drink heavily is associated with having a social network in which more people drink heavily. This association has largely been reported in non-clinical samples of young adults and in networks of 10 or fewer relationships. Exploring social networks in older adults and in more distal relationships may further elucidate the interplay between an individual’s drinking and their social network. This dissertation explores the associations between a person’s social network and their drinking behaviour in adults, in clinical samples of people with alcohol use disorder (AUD), and in both proximal and distal social networks. The first study explores the psychometric properties of a brief egocentric (i.e., individual self-reports on their network) social network analysis (SNA) measure in general community adult drinkers. The second study compares a brief and a more extensive, or formal, SNA measure in terms of the capacity to identify AUD. The third study investigates the association between social networks and recovery from AUD, using a simple measure of social network alcohol use. Finally, the fourth study examines whether a higher-resolution SNA tool could provide a more in-depth understanding of the relationship between social networks and recovery from AUD. The results of this dissertation validate several uses of SNA in the context of AUD in adults: first, a brief measure demonstrates excellent psychometric properties. Second, both brief and formal SNA measures demonstrate the capacity to accurately classify those with and without AUD. Third, social networks play both a moderating and/or mediating role in AUD recovery, depending on the phase of recovery and type of social network measure used. Collectively, this dissertation provides an important foundation for further applications of SNA in clinical research and practice. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / An individual's social network plays a critical role in influencing behaviour, including their alcohol use. However, the majority of research investigating this association has focused on young adults in non-clinical samples and in close social circles. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the role of an individual’s social networks on that individual’s drinking behaviour across a broad age range, in clinical samples, and in both immediate and extended social circles. The results suggest that social network alcohol use is consistently associated with an individual’s alcohol consumption. Beyond providing important insight into the social context of alcohol use, the findings indicate that measuring network influences could provide clinical value by potentially informing diagnostic assessments of alcohol use disorder and intervention approaches that focus on both the individual and their social context.

Members of Greek Life organizations consume more alcohol and participate in risky drinking behaviors at higher rate than their non-Greek counterparts due to deep rooted social norms within this population. Undergraduate sorority women at college and universities are often overlooked in research regarding trends in alcohol use in Greek Life organizations. However, women between the ages of 18 and 24 are more vulnerable to the consequences of heavy alcohol use compared to men, including liver disease, sexual assault, poor academic outcomes and post-collegiate alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Although higher education institutions are tasked with educating their students about safe alcohol use and protecting students from harm, these interventions are often inadequate in decreasing alcohol related consequences. Among students, sorority women consistently consume higher amounts of alcohol and exhibit higher rates of risky drinking behavior. This thesis aims to examine the unique alcohol-related consequences and risk factors sorority women face. Implications are discussed to guide college administrators, counselors and other supports that are likely to encounter issues associated with alcohol use within this population.

Thesis (PhD (Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: There is a paucity of research documenting women’s undisclosed drinking. This study explored the discursive accounts of women’s alcohol dependence, treatment history and barriers in accessing alcohol dependence treatment. The goals of this dissertation were to explore women’s alcohol dependence history; explore women’s treatment history (or lack thereof); identify barriers and nature of barriers that limit women’s access to alcohol dependence treatment; identify the reasons for women not accessing treatment, and to interpret women’s experiences of treatment per se. A Human Scientific Approach was adopted to examine and interpret how women’s drinking is socially constructed. A social constructionist approach was utilised to access and construct meaning from the discourses emanating from the women’s narratives of their experience with alcohol and their attempts at rehabilitation. Ten women were interviewed using the life story (narrative) interview method. The findings illustrate two major discourses namely, secret drinking and inaccessibility of appropriate treatment facilities for women alcohol dependents. This means that participants feel forced to conceal their drinking and to drink secretively because of the stigma associated with women drinking heavily. The stigma they experience translates into barriers (mostly internal barriers) to seeking institutionalised treatment. This makes it easier for them to seek alternative treatment such as an anonymous fellowship, like Alcoholics Anonymous. Other discourses signify the importance of problem identification and treatment readiness. This means that if the alcohol dependent woman realises what the real problem is causing her to use alcohol as an escape or as a coping strategy, she will be more willing to address the underlying problem. Recommendations are made focusing on micro and macro-level intervention strategies such as access to treatment, public health campaigns and policies to improve the quality of life of women recovering from alcohol dependence. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Daar is min inligting beskikbaar oor die dokumentering van vroue wat in-die-geheim alkohol gebruik. Hierdie studie het die diskursiewe weergawe van vroue se alkoholgebruik, behandelingsgeskiedenis en hindernisse tot die behandeling van alkohol-misbruik verken. Die doelstellings van hierdie verhandeling is om die volgende te verken: Vroue se afhanklikheidsgeskiedenis; vroue se rehabiliteringsgeskiedenis (of die gebrek daaraan); die identifisering van hindernisse en die aard van die probleme wat vroue se toegang tot die behandeling van alkohol-misbruik beperk; die identifisering van redes waarom vroue rehabilitering weier; en die interpretasie van vroue se belewings van behandeling per se. ‘n Humanisties-wetenskaplike benadering is gebruik om die sosiale konstruksie van vroue se drinkgewoontes te ondersoek en te interpreteer. Die verstaan van en die skep van betekenis van die diskoerse van die vroue, en die temas wat na vore gekom het vanuit hul vertellings/narratiewe van hul alkohol-ervarings en hul pogings tot rehabilitering, is binne die raamwerk van die sosiaal-konstruksionistiese uitgangspunt aangepak. Onderhoude is met tien vroue gevoer en die narratiewe metode is gebruik. Die bevindings toon twee hoofdiskoerse naamlik, drinkery in-die-geheim en die ontoeganklikheid van gepaste behandelingsfasiliteite vir vroue met afhanklikheidsprobleme. Dit beteken dat vroue ondervind dat hulle gedwing word om in-die-geheim te drink, as gevolg van die stigmatisering van vroue en oormatige alkohol-gebruik. Hierdie stigmatisering kan herlei word tot hindernisse (meestal interne hindernisse) te make met ge-institutionaliseerde behandeling. Om die rede is dit makliker vir vroue om alternatiewe behandeling soos anonieme gemeenskappe, byvoorbeeld Alkoholiste Anoniem te oorweeg. Ander diskoerse beklemtoon die identifisering van probleme en die instemming tot rehabilitering. Dit beteken dat wanneer die alkoholis die werklike probleem vir alkohol-gebruik verstaan as ‘n ontsnapping of as ‘n hanteringsstrategie, sy meer gewillig sal wees om die onderliggende probleem aan te spreek. Aanbevelings is gemaak met die fokus op mikro- en makrointervensiestrategieë, soos die toegang tot rehabilitering, openbare gesondheidsveldtogte en beleide ten einde die leef-kwaliteit van vroue in die herstelproses van alkoholafhanklikheid te verbeter.